Reflection on Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

The thrill of the chase is over. 

After ten years, the treasure chest filled with gold and gems, hidden by a millionaire with a flair for adventure, has been discovered somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. 

Hundreds of thousands of people have searched and dug through the mountain west of the United States for this very real treasure chest worth more than two million dollars.  Four people died in the wilderness as they tried to decipher the cryptic poem which hinted at its location.  But, one lucky person from the east coast has deciphered the poem and found the hidden treasure.  And, in this era of economic hardship for so much of the world, this person’s life has likely been changed forever.

Imagine a treasure so priceless that you would give up your entire life to find it.

Some people seek after actual buried treasure, but I tend to seek after the kingdom of God, and I know that in your heart of hearts you desire that kingdom too. 

Who would not want to discover the tiny seed that grows into a great tree; a tree which houses and sustains not just the birds of the air, but all creation?  Who would not want to climb the branches of that tree where all are housed and given fruit no matter the color of their plumage or the amount of wealth they have amassed in their nests?  The kingdom of God is a tree of life for all.  

“Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them,” Jesus teaches us (Matthew 6:26).

Who would not want to discover the dough stuffed with hidden yeast that grows and expands and when baked feeds, not only those who can afford to build their own grain mills, but especially those who cannot: vulnerable, disadvantaged adults and children?  In the kingdom of God the multitudes are looked upon with compassion and fed.  The dough of that love rises over the sides of the bowl and all over the place! 

This is the center of Jesus’ heart, heard clearly as Matthew teaches us that: “Jesus saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them” (Matthew 14:14).

Who would not search and dig for the kingdom of God where your heart is truly free; a heart that is not weighed down by things, or wealth, or concerns, or worry; a heart that is free to love as God loved without the second thoughts, or the hate passed down through the generations, or the fear that the heart might be stabbed with pain once again?  

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Jesus says (Matthew 6:21).  Who would not want a heart filled with the treasure of God’s kingdom?

This is the type of treasure that you sell everything in order to obtain.  This is the type of treasure that you hold close like a fine pearl.  It is a treasure that you do not fling around with wild abandon because those who are evil, and hateful, and dishonest will trample all over it.

The kingdom of God is a gift from God like no other.  And, in a world where people feel pulled apart from one another and encouraged to fan the flames of hatred and division and partisanship, the gift of a tiny seed that grows into a tree that will bring us all together to sit in its branches is the holy gift that the world desperately needs. 

Lord, in a world where we are taught to hate instead of loving our enemies, have mercy on us. 

Lord, in a world where we feel encouraged to protect ourselves and forget our neighbors, have mercy on us. 

Lord, in a world where everything has gone wrong and no one knows what the next major catastrophe to befall us might be, have mercy on us.

Lord, help us to see the tiny seed that grows into the tree. 

Lord, help us to see the tiny yeast that expands for the benefit of all. 

Lord, help us to discover once again the absolute value of the treasure that feels hidden far, far away in a distant field…as hard to find as a millionaire’s treasure hunt…but of infinitely more value because it is not something that would just improve our lives, it is life itself. 

Lord, help us to discover once again the treasure that is the kingdom of God

where those who struggle in spirit are blessed;

where those who mourn find an arm of comfort and consolation;

where those who have no desire to take charge and have no opportunity to take charge finally  have a say;

where those who thirst for the world to be right, and loving, and good will get their drink;

where those who show mercy to others will live in nothing but a world of mercy;

where those who desire nothing but God will see God clearly;

where those who seek nothing but peace and prosperity for all, and actively advocate for it, will be seen as sons and daughters of God;

and where those who suffer because they live for the kingdom of God will have nothing less than that kingdom. 

Lord, your kingdom come, your will be done.  Bring us into your kingdom.

Reflection on Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

I have been fooled before. 

I will freely admit that I sometimes I have been very wrong about people.  I had a friend in college who seemed to be a kind, go-lucky, church camp-y sort of fellow.  In fact, he was a church camp counselor, and a beloved one at that.  But, years later we were all shocked to learn that he had molested children. 

And, in the opposite sense, I had a professor who seemed to walk around stuck up and self-absorbed, who turned out to be one of the most generous people, giving extra time after teaching and significant amounts of money toward the disadvantaged. 

And, I will have to admit that my own thoughts about people’s character have at times been influenced by the color of that person’s skin rather than the content of their character.  So, I do admit that I have been very wrong about people before.

But, even so, I will say that for the most part…maybe 80 percent of the time…I am able to pick out the good from the bad.  I can usually tell the difference between people who are completely self-absorbed and self-serving, and those who love their neighbors as much as they love themselves.  Around 80 percent of the time I can absolutely distinguish between the wheat and the weeds.  Some people, quite frankly, are just easy to pick out of the crowd.

And, these days it seems even easier to pick them out as the bad seem to seek out full attention and recognition.  They actually try to get right in our faces and right on our screens. 

So, it is easy to cast our metaphorical stones.  It is easy to point out their hurtful actions or words, try them in a jury of our friends, and declare a verdict of guilty.  It is easy to point out the enemy; the children of the evil one.  It is easy to yank out the weeds.  You have no idea how many people I have marked for weed pulling in my head each day while scrolling through social media.

But, before I wrap my hands around the stalks of the enemy, and before I put my back into it and pull, there are some words from someone who is pretty influential in my life that give me pause.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:43-44 to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  And, further in 5:45 he says that God, the one who judges all of us, “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good.”  That alone gives me pause before I consider yanking out the weeds to be a worthwhile goal.  Certainly, loving your enemy looks nothing like destroying them. 

And then, there is Matthew 10:36, where Jesus tells the disciples that he is sending them out as sheep among wolves, where “one’s enemies will be members of one’s own household.”  Is that not where most of the angst in our current cultural disagreements lies?  Weeds waving in our faces from afar do not pose too much of a threat, but when those weeds are those closest to you, the thought of pulling them up and leaving them to die is something different altogether.

But, Jesus does not expect us to attempt to get rid of these weeds in the first place.  He has a very good reason for this: “for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.” 

I have some beautiful irises that my wife and I planted years ago.  Unfortunately, they are planted in a very weed healthy area of our yard.  Quite often, we let the weeds share their space because their roots are just so shallow.  It is so easy to pull up the irises with the weeds.  In pulling the weeds, you can also destroy what is beautiful.

A couple of years ago, I heard about a brand new pastor who saw the evil that a young woman in his congregation was inflicting upon her family.  What she was doing was truly evil. 

So, the pastor decided that he was going to get up into the pulpit and point a finger at the evil, and pull that weed.  His new church was not going to be infested.  The day after he preached his finger-pointing sermon, he received a letter from a couple of the congregation’s most devoted and loving members.

You have to understand, this husband and wife were those quiet sort of servants who were at every event, setting up the tables, making the food, and hugging the depressed.  They were the ones who ran the hunger walk every year which raised thousands of dollars for the most destitute in the world.  They were the ones who probably understood Jesus’ self-giving love on the cross the best.  They were also the parents of the “evil” young woman in the congregation. 

Do not misunderstand, these parents were not hoodwinked.  They knew the trouble that their daughter had gotten into more than anybody.  But, they were also working on a task that Jesus had explicitly set out for his disciples: forgiveness.

As the pastor read the letter, he discovered that these two disciples of the congregation were not coming back.  Nor, did they think they would go to another church for the time being.  The hurt that was caused by his callous attempt at plucking weeds was too fresh and too great.  Some fine wheat suffered from his weed pulling.

Lord, “do you want us to go and gather up” the weeds?   

"No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.”

It is not our job to point out and gather up the weeds.  Jesus says that is clearly the job of the reaping angels.  “They will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers.”  It is not our job to condemn the weeds that are so clearly coming to a head in the field.  “Vengeance is mine” says the Lord as quoted in Romans 12:19.  Condemnation is not our job.

After-all, did I not just admit at the top of the sermon that I am only correct 80 percent of the time on who is evil and who is good?  That means that 20 percent of the time I am completely wrong and condemning someone who does not deserve it. 

We have only one job given to us by Jesus.  And, that is to love our neighbor, sharing Jesus’ good news.  That means forgiving many, many times over.  That means leading others toward Jesus’ love and forgiveness. 

Just to be clear, making someone aware of their sin is not the same as condemning.  Making people aware of their sin is done out of love.  We truly want others to experience the freeing power of forgiveness.  Our task as followers of the one who gave his life on the cross to save the world is not to condemn, but to love. 

The gospel of John remind us that “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). 

So, how about we let the field grow with wheat and weed together?  It is OK.  We do not have to remove the weeds.  We just use our opportunities in life to raise and grow that field the best we can, and love it until the great harvest of the Lord.  That is more than enough.

Reflection on Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

It was right there, in a pile of rocks.  Nothing should have been able to grow there.  Yet, rooted in a little puddle of soil on top of a pile of rocks along a cliff side there was a delicate, little pine tree (no more than 4 inches tall) stretching its neck toward the sky.  It was a beautiful little sight; so beautiful that I took a picture. 

But, it was also a tragic sight, because I was certain that that little blaze of green in the middle of the drab, stone cliff side would soon die because its soil could not be more than an inch deep on top of the rock.  That was until I saw something further along the cliff side; but more on that later.

There have been times in my life that my heart has been the soil that you find in the middle of a dirt path.  Jesus has thrown either a word of good news and love or a word of healthy correction my way, like a near-eastern farmer who flings seed everywhere, but my heart has been through so much trampling and foot stomping, and it is compressed so tight, that it cannot possibly open itself up to any seeds that Jesus has thrown my way. 

A hard heart is not one that can be broken again, but neither is it a heart that can beat.  And, with the seeds of God’s word falling and laying upon such hard soil, the birds just come and clear it away.

There have also been times in my life that my heart has been rocky soil.  The soil that is there is rich in nutrients so when Jesus throws either a word of good news and love or a word of healthy correction my way, it excites me and drives me to be a better person and a better follower of Jesus Christ. 

I remember a time as a teen when I heard the powerful testimony of a comedian who was delivered by God from a life of dark depression into a light filled life of love and laughter.  The testimony was so funny and so tragically powerful that I was brought to tears, and teenage boys just do not get brought to tears.  So, in other words, there was plenty of dust blowing in my eyes that evening. 

I went from that evening committed to being the best follower of Christ that I could possibly be. 

You can probably already guess where this is going.  This sort of commitment to Christ usually springs up pretty quickly, lasts a couple of weeks (if that long), and then you realize that there was not enough nutrients in the soil or the soil was just too shallow, and the word that the Lord provided just sort of dies from being scorched by the sun.

Then, of course, there were the times that the Lord threw a word of good news and love or healthy correction my way, and it got caught up in all of the branches and thorns that had overtaken my soil.  Other cares, other concerns, other forces that I allowed to drive my life, other “more important” things crowded out the Lord’s seeds and thorns took over the places that the seeds attempted to take root.  And, I have to admit, that you do not need to be addicted to anything to have your life overtaken by complete distractions from what truly matters in life. 

Do not underestimate the power that the world has to shape your soil.  Do not underestimate the power that individuals and societies have to make your soil hardened, or rocky, or crowded. 

One drunken Native American who pushes you around while waiting at a bus terminal can cause a hardness of heart toward the plight of a whole people. 

One extremely bad and abusive relationship in your early 20s can shape your entire life of dating and your entire married life in tragic ways. 

And, days filled with too many choices and too many important decisions, and too many differing opinions of what is right and correct and true can crowd out the one thing that matters the most: the will of God. 

Do not underestimate the power that individuals and societies have to make your soil hardened, or rocky, or crowded.

But, also do not underestimate the power of God to place a seed into a rock enclosed tomb, only for the tomb to explode open with new life.  Jesus cannot be held down and the word of his love cannot be blocked forever.

So, even when your soil is the hard soil of the path, or the shallow soil found in the rocks, or the soil that is choked out by thorns, never forget that the savior of the world does not give up on throwing the seed!  He still scatters the seed on the hard soil and the rocky ground and into the thorns.  He does not give up throwing that seed all over the place because maybe, just maybe, that seed will fall into a little puddle of good soil and sprout a beautiful little tree that can grow out of the hardship. 

You see, when I looked just a little further across the rocky cliff side where that little tree had sprung up, I saw a huge tree where God had directed the roots out over the edge of the rocky cliff to find nourishment in some good soil below.  That seed had overcome the rocky soil.  And, God’s word can overcome yours too.  Look up, and like a child in a rainstorm, allow the seed of God’s word to rain down on you.  It is a rain of seed that never lets up.

Reflection on Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

I have been pretty weary lately.  And, I know that you have been too.  A person can only handle so much change in the world before a deep weariness sets in. 

You want to know what weariness feels like? 

Weariness is letting your foot hang off the edge of the bed at night because you do not really care if a monster grabs it. 

Weariness is showing someone around your house saying, “And, this is the room where I cry myself to sleep.”  “But, you’ve said that about the last three rooms.”  “Exactly!” 

You know, life is like a box of chocolates, mostly disappointing. 

And, to whoever stole my antidepressants, I hope you’re happy now.

Did anyone come for an uplifting sermon?  This might not be your day.  Actually, you might hear something uplifting from Jesus after-all, so do not give up hope on me too soon. 

But, before we get to that, Jesus describes a situation that all know too well; and it is the source of so much weariness.  It is the situation in which John the Baptist was condemned by people because he abstained from eating and drinking, yet Jesus was condemned by people because he did eat and drink.  “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” people accused. 

There is just no winning. 

It is true that you cannot please everyone all the time, but this sort of stuff get really tiring.  There is only so much pointless, self-centered arguing that any one person can take. 

“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.”  

A little cabin hidden away in the woods looks better and better all the time!

Yet, Jesus did not retreat from the self-centered world that complains and wines like children in the marketplace.  Instead, he views them as children...real children who need real compassion and guidance. 

Children, after-all, do throw fits whenever they do not get their way, but children do also learn.  In fact, Jesus says that God reveals things to the youngest of us all: infants.  Infants may be the definition of selfish and self-centered, always asking for food and diaper changes, but they are also the primary beings in the universe who have the most potential to learn. 

Instead of having us retreat to a lonely cabin, away from a self-centered world, Jesus proposes simply viewing people as children.  And, he proposes to lift the weariness off of our shoulders in the first place. 

Here is what I mean.  There was a time when mac-and-cheese was the only food that a certain little one would agree to eat. 

“Listen here little one, mac-and-cheese for every meal is not healthy,” the adults would try to convince. 

But, kids are kids, and kids want what tastes good to them, and they want what they know. 

“No, I want mac-and-cheese!” the child screamed at the top of her lungs. 

Now, this irrational back and forth could make a person weary really, really quick.  But, the truth of the matter is that the child is a child.  Also true is that fruits and vegetables are valuable no matter what the child screams.  The truth is the truth. 

Instead, of arguing about the mac-and-cheese, and therefore getting very, very weary, one can just let that argument go…one can just let that burden be removed and simply set the fruits and vegetables in front of the child.  Whether the child tastes them or not is up to them, but the need to win the argument can be lifted off of our shoulders.

In fact, Jesus promises to lift all of these heavy, weary-inducing circumstances off of our shoulders, and in their place we are given Jesus life of love.  Is what you are doing based in love?  Then there is no reason to worry about the rest. 

Let Jesus lift off the worries.  Let Jesus lift off the endless arguments of these past months and days.  Let Jesus lift away all your concerns, and instead Jesus will allow you to carry around his eternal love. 

It is a love that cares instead of argues.  It is a love that saves rather than condemns.  It is a love that seeks to live in the truth rather than winning at all costs.  It is a love that would go to the cross for self-centered children, and save them from their own destructive ways.  It is a love that lasts until the end.

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

So, come.  Come to Jesus.  Allow him to carry all your weariness.  And, in return, allow him to wrap his love around your shoulders.  Love looks much better on you anyway.